Gallipoli Campaign:

UK, France,Australia, New Zealand

vs.

Ottoman Empire

1) Gallipoli assault: a new front by Britain (w/ Australia & New Zealand) and France on the Ottoman Turks, to try and break the stalemate of WWI.

An attempt to: - Capture the Ottoman capital (Constantinople)

- Knock the Turks (and a German ally) out of the war - Control the Dardanelles & Bosporus Straits for

access to the Black Sea, to help supply Russia, reinforce the Eastern Front, and take

pressure off the Western Front.

Result: total failure. Stalemate, trench warfare, 250,000 Allied casualties.

2) Soldiers recruited from imperial colonies:- Most “wanted nothing to do with their European

rulers’ conflicts” (not their fight!)- Some volunteered to fight in support of their

colonial rulers, seeking respect… and independence after the war???

3) German navy relied on SUBMARINE warfare. Goal was to “starve”

Allies (esp. Britain) out of the war, by

depriving them of necessary war materiel

and resources.

4) German “unrestricted submarine warfare”:

The targeting and sinking of any and all ships around Britain, without warning, and regardless of which nation’s flag the ship might be sailing under.

The Germans initially had this naval strategy, but backed off it in 1915, after strong protests (from the U.S.) for sinking the passenger ship Lusitania.

Though the Germans knew they were risking the entry of the U.S. into the war against them as an Allied power by returning to this strategy in 1917, they gambled that they could starve Britain out of the war before the U.S. had time to mobilize troops to Europe.

(By then Russia was out of the war, and the Germans hoped to deliver knock-out blow on Western Front before U.S. arrived).

5) Reasons for U.S. entry into WWI: - Unrestricted submarine warfare on all shipping

to Britain (including U.S. ships) - Zimmerman Telegram: Germans attempt to get Mexico to join Central Powers, to tie up U.S. military in North America (and delay U.S. support of Allies)... Mexico would (in theory) get SW U.S. states back (lost in Mexican-American War of 1846-1848) in return for support. - U.S. economic ties (trade) w/ Allied Powers

6) Total War = all national resources (economic, political, social) are poured the into war effort...

… no longer any distinction between “combatant” and “non-combatant”... everything and everyone becomes a target… including civilians.

7) Economic impact of “total war” by governments:

Government takes control of the economy, directs all major industrial production…

… AND consumption, in the form of RATIONING consumer goods toward the war effort.

8) Governments also try to actively manage public perceptions about the war:I. Limit public disapproval: - “Suppress anti-war activity” (with violent

force, if necessary). - Censorship - State controlled media (i.e. newspapers) - “Sedition” laws (prohibiting anti-war speech) - Propaganda

Keep citizens intimidated (afraid) or ignorant (misinformed)!

8) Governments control of public perceptions (cont.):II. Encourage public approval of war: Propaganda, designed to persuade the public

to continue their support of the war effort.

Propaganda = one-sided information presented to influence popular thinking toward a point of view. GOALS:1. demonize & dehumanize the enemy2. provide hope, inspiration, & justification for

actions (“we're winning, they're losing!”)3. Recruit soldiers4. encourage purchase of government war bonds

to help fund the cost of war

QUALITIES of EFFECTIVE propaganda: 1. Simple (uncomplicated, brief)2. Emotional (no thinking required… only reaction)3. Repetitive!Control of the media, and propaganda, creates the ability to manage information that informs peoples' opinions & emotions, and their resulting behavior.

Danger to democratic societies: Citizen decisions (voting!) determine the quality of

government... a poorly or mis-informed public will make poor and mis-informed decisions, resulting in bad leaders & bad policies!

(Problems of modern democratic societies: propaganda comes as much – or more – from corporate media as it does from the government!)

9) Government propaganda & censorship are not always effective… the truth always leaks out:

- casualty lists in newspapers- letters home from the front- first-hand stories of wounded soldiers back from

the front- Physically (and psychologically) injured soldiers

returning from the front (visible evidence of war trauma)

- fighting in your town?! - the reality that stalemate – and the war - is not

ending!(Today: e-mail, cell-phone cameras, internet,

Wikileaks, etc.)

10) Impact of WWI on women:

- With citizen armies of drafted men, women take on non-traditional roles in the labor force (i.e.

working in factories, manufacturing munitions & weapons).

- Served as nurses at the war front

This changes traditional perceptions of what women were capable of in society… this will lead to women’s SUFFRAGE immediately after WWI!

11) Russian withdrawal from WWI: Suffering from war-related shortages of food and

fuel, combined with massive casualties, starving civilians and suffering soldiers both turn on the Czar, forcing him to step down from his throne (abdicate).There‘s no longer any nationalist sense of “duty” to king & country; only a desperate sense of survival takes over Russia!

12) Russia’s government changes: From absolute monarchy (Czar)… … to a PROVISIONAL (temporary, interim) government (1917)… … to a COMMUNIST DICTATORSHIP,

following a revolution & civil war (1917- 1922)

13) Russian withdrawal from WWI helps Germany: This ends the “two-front war” for Germany;

Germans can then redeploy troops from Eastern front to Western front, against France & Britain…

(and the U.S.?)

14) WHY GERMANY LOSES… AND WWI ENDS:1. After major German offensives in 1918, the Allies

keep fighting; the German military is weakened after 4 years of fighting; Germany is unable to replenish lost war supplies or soldiers… = Germany loses war of attrition [Also: ongoing British naval blockade of Germany limits German resources… German civilians are going hungry]

2. U.S. enters war (gives Allied Powers decisive advantage, including ability to replenish supplies, troops… = WIN “war of attrition”)

14) WHY GERMANY LOSES… AND WWI ENDS:3. Central Powers collapse:

Bulgarians & Ottoman Turks surrender, Austria-Hungary experiences ethnic unrest within their borders, collapses into multiple republics.

4. Governments collapse, monarchies are toppled:- Austro-Hungarian monarch steps down - Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicates following loss of

public support (Germans are starving) and military mutinies (in the navy). He is no

longer viewed as the legitimate German ruler.

Collapse of Ottoman Empire: Allies stir up Arab nationalist groups in the Ottoman

Empire to weaken, and ultimately destroy it from within (be careful what you wish for?)

Lawrence of Arabia!

15) Following the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II (and the end of the Second Reich),

Germany forms a REPUBLIC. The Kaiser lives out his days in exile, in Holland.

16) WWI “ends” on November 11, 1918:

Armistice = “an agreement to stop fighting”

(aka, a “cease-fire”).

Treaty = document that officially ends war, with signed terms & conditions

17) Effects of WWI:

- Massive casualties (death, physical injuries, psychological injuries), from combat, starvation, and disease (including the Spanish Influenza epidemic of 1918)… affects soldiers AND civilians (total war!)

= Europe’s “lost generation”

17) Effects of WWI (continued):

- Physical destruction along war fronts (farms, homes, villages, towns, infrastructure)

- Economic collapse of European nations (drained public treasuries, consumer shortages, high

unemployment)

… nations drained of “blood and treasure”

- For survivors, a sense of “disillusionment, insecurity, despair”, hopelessness,

futility (further reflected in the art and literature of that era)

WWI DEATHS (numbers rounded):

military civilian* total

Russia 1,800,000 1,500,000 3,300,000

Ottoman Empire (Turkey) 772,000 2,150,000** 2,900,000

Germany 2,050,000 426,000 2,500,000

France 1,400,000 300,000 1,700,000

Austria-Hungary 1,100,000 467,000 1,600,000

Italy 651,000 589,000 1,240,000

UK (Great Britain) 887,000 109,000 1,000,000

USA 117,000 757 118,000

TOTAL ALL*** 9,700,000 6,800,000 16,500,000

*includes deaths from military action, famine, and disease

** includes at least 1 million deaths from the Armenian Genocide

*** includes other nations not listed

STATISTICS DO NOT INCLUDE DEATHS FROM THE SPANISH FLU (1918-1920), WHICH KILLED AT LEAST ANOTHER 50 MILLION PEOPLE!